Performance

With all functionality hardware based, there are no software drivers for the Cougar Ultimus RGB. As such, I have chosen to combine this section with the performance section below.

Performance

The Ultimus RGB from Cougar supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and as is usually the case these days, the right Windows keys is replaced with an Fn key.

When first connected and running, the keyboard lights up in a so-called "Circle" lighting effect, which is basically a spiral rainbow effect. The transition animation is smooth, and the effect is a good demo to also ensure the keyboard is powered on and working properly.


In a separate test via one of the preset multi-color options, I tested for light bleed, and it was definitely present at the common edges because of the floating keycaps, but not to where it is distracting. There are also some preset options that only light up specific keys in white based on your choice of game genre, and this is the only way to test for color fidelity outside of setting a custom backlighting effect. RGB LEDs generally have a hard time depicting white, and it was a white with a stronger than average blue hue in this case.

Here are some more of the lighting effects demonstrated, including a rainbow wave, star, rain (drop), and flow, making full use of the hardware available. There is a good amount of onboard control over choosing the lighting effects, as well as customizing the brightness, speed, and direction as relevant. Given the lack of any software control, this is all you have available, so keep that user manual handy for the first two weeks, especially for the custom lighting effects.

The lighting controls aside, using the Cougar Ultimus keyboard is easy, including the pre-programmed functions for the Fn key row allowing media and volume control, as well as shortcuts for applications that are all listed via secondary legends on the keycaps. You can also lock the Win key if you do not want to accidentally back out of a game, for example. The base function as a full-size keyboard works as well as I can ask, but the large form factor is inefficient even from a pure design perspective.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Cougar Ultimus RGB keyboard sample at ~90 WPM as it comes out of the box with the Cougar Red switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out more often than not given the relatively lightweight keycaps and switches. The Cougar Red is analogous to the Cherry MX Red in function, with a 2 mm actuation and 4 mm travel distance and a rated 45 gf actuation force. The switches are closer in smoothness to the latest batch of Cherry MX Red switches with the 100 M keystrokes and the new mold, although these switches are rated for 50 M keystrokes, so take that for what you want.